State health officials reported 219 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as well as five additional deaths among individuals with the disease.
New infections with the virus have declined in Maine in recent weeks, which authorities say is a sign that the state is finally coming out of the worst post-holiday pandemic period. The seven-day rolling average of new cases was 357 on Monday, compared to 455 cases in the week ending Jan. 25 and a peak of 626 cases for the period ended Jan. 15, according to figures from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Despite the improvement in the number of cases, however, the number of deaths in Maine continues to rise. With the five additional deaths reported Monday, at least 595 deaths in Maine have been linked to COVID-19, more than 60 percent of them since Dec. 1.
The rate of vaccination in Maine is accelerating, although this week’s blizzard may delay some vaccinations.
Monday morning, 153,981 doses of vaccine had been administered in Maine since mid-December. That figure includes 115,087 first doses and 38,894 second or “booster” injections needed to achieve maximum protection with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Maine CDC reported that a record 8,827 shots had been taken on Thursday.
A winter storm expected to hit Maine on Monday night is likely to hit vaccination clinics early this week, although some locations would remain open during the storm. All of Maine was under a winter storm warning on Monday from a Nor’easter who could dump more than a foot of snow in some areas by the time the storm hits Tuesday night.
Northern Light Health still plans to hold its large-scale vaccination clinic at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Tuesday despite the storm.
“If you pre-register and have an appointment, and can safely go to Cross Insurance Center, we’ll be there to vaccinate you at the scheduled time,” the health network said in a statement Sunday. “If you can’t be there due to winter weather, please call Northern Light Health at 207-204-8551.”
In Washington, DC, President Joe Biden, meanwhile, plans to meet with Senator Susan Collins of Maine and nine other Republican senators Monday afternoon to discuss the group’s counter-proposal against Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
This story is being updated.
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